LAUREN LIVES

Did your pup make The Nice List this year?? Or maybe you know a couple of good dog mama’s out there who you’re looking to gift for. Look no further! Today I have a super cute & super easy DIY project for you all — perfect for beginner sewers and for an evening project after work! Which means you can even get it done before the first of December if you really want to 😉

This all started when my neighbor originally sent me a link for an adorable Puppy Advent Calendar being sold on Etsy. But orders were all sold out. I thought the trees were too stinkin’ cute to pass up, and so I took to Pinterest for further inspiration, before I texted back and said, “I can make these.” And so I bought enough green felt at Jo Ann Fabrics to make a couple of these Advent Calendars — for all of our favorite pups & kitten of Redondo Condo — and today I’ll show you how to craft your own! Marty is already crazy about his 😉

What You Need:

1. your favorite shade of green felt (1 yard will be plenty).

2. needle & thread and/or sewing machine.

3. scissors.

4. fabric paint in a squeeze tube.

5. sharpie or fabric marker.

6. holiday bow for topper.

7. milkbone dog treats (or make your own!)

8. mini bone or other treat for topper.

9. optional: newspaper or wrapping paper to make your own pattern.

10. measuring tape.

Directions:

1. Make a pattern for your tree. I used the other side of some wrapping paper that I had because it had the little blocks on it which made measuring super easy for me! Newspaper or cardboard works well too. Remember, you only need to draw out half of your tree! I used the blocks on the paper to decipher how big I could make my treat pockets while keeping them all uniform (5 blocks vertical in this photo), but you could just as easily use your measuring tape too.
2. Cut out your tree. Fold your fabric in half and place your tree outline on the fold of the fabric. Outline it with your fabric marker or sharpie. This is to ensure that you cut out an entire tree that is a mirror image! No lopsided trees around here!
   

   

   3. Make your treat pockets. Cut long strips of fabric to the height that you’ve determined will fit on your tree. I made mine 2 inches tall. Once you have your long pieces cut, make a small mark every 3 inches. These will be the pockets (you may have to make your pockets smaller if you made your tree smaller! Do what works best for your tree!) A good way to determine this is to lay a piece on the bottom branch of the tree and make sure that you can fit seven pockets! You will need one strip that is 7 pockets long, one that is 6, one that is 5, 4, and 2.

   

   

   4. Pin your pockets onto your tree & start sewing! The method that I found works best is to sew the long strips down first — the sides and the bottoms of each of them. And then go back and sew straight stitches up where each of your marks are made. The great part about using felt for this project is that there is no fraying!5. Time for the fun stuff! Now that all the sewing is complete, you can do the fun stuff to make it personal for your pup! Use fabric paint in a squeeze tube to draw on the numbers of the month. Let paint dry before attaching the holiday bow on top. I attached a small little bone to the bow on top for all the pups to get on Christmas Day (and a mouse toy for the kitten!). But that’s optional! I thought it was cute 😉6. Add your treats & hang! I filled Marty’s Advent Calendar with milk bone treats because they were large enough to stick out of the pockets, they’re well-priced, and because he loves them! But if you’re gifting this to a friend, I think homemade treats would be just the sweetest touch!

   When it came to hanging this project, I had to really use some brain power, because the treats kind of weigh the felt down and cause it to cave in. To fix this, I cut two slits in the tree behind the bow and wove in a wooden dowel rod to hang. I secured the felt branches of the tree to the wall with some tape and it’s holding up nicely. Another alternative would be to attach wooden dowels to the back, horizontally — or even a coat hanger — to keep the tree from curving in with the weight of the treats! Get creative and do what works best for your space! 

And there you have it! The perfect Advent Calendar for all the perfect pups (or kittens!) in your life! I loved this project. It was easy, it took me about an hour and a half to complete, and it was inexpensive! And with December only a few days away, it’s something that you can complete before then, and bam!..less gifts to worry about on the 25th 😉 Plus, how cute will your pup be, sitting under his tree everyday waiting for his treat!?

^^all the good pups in my life!^^

Happy Crafting & Happy Holidays!, and please send me feedback if you give this project a go!

love, The Lewis’